Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Future King
9 (A)Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion!
Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you!
He comes triumphant and victorious,
but humble and riding on a donkey—
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 (B)The Lord says,
“I will remove the war chariots from Israel
and take the horses from Jerusalem;
the bows used in battle will be destroyed.
Your king will make peace among the nations;
he will rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.”
The Restoration of God's People
11 (C)The Lord says,
“Because of my covenant with you
that was sealed by the blood of sacrifices,
I will set your people free—
free from the waterless pit of exile.
12 Return, you exiles who now have hope;
return to your place of safety.
Now I tell you that I will repay you twice over
with blessing for all you have suffered.
8 The Lord is loving and merciful,
slow to become angry and full of constant love.
9 He is good to everyone
and has compassion on all he made.
10 All your creatures, Lord, will praise you,
and all your people will give you thanks.
11 They will speak of the glory of your royal power
and tell of your might,
12 so that everyone will know your mighty deeds
and the glorious majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your rule is eternal,
and you are king forever.
The Lord is faithful to his promises;
he is merciful in all his acts.
14 He helps those who are in trouble;
he lifts those who have fallen.
15 (A)I do not understand what I do; for I don't do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate. 16 Since what I do is what I don't want to do, this shows that I agree that the Law is right. 17 So I am not really the one who does this thing; rather it is the sin that lives in me. 18 I know that good does not live in me—that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it. 19 I don't do the good I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do not want to do. 20 If I do what I don't want to do, this means that I am no longer the one who does it; instead, it is the sin that lives in me.
21 So I find that this law is at work: when I want to do what is good, what is evil is the only choice I have. 22 My inner being delights in the law of God. 23 But I see a different law at work in my body—a law that fights against the law which my mind approves of. It makes me a prisoner to the law of sin which is at work in my body. 24 What an unhappy man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is taking me to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who does this through our Lord Jesus Christ!
This, then, is my condition: on my own I can serve God's law only with my mind, while my human nature serves the law of sin.
16 “Now, to what can I compare the people of this day? They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group shouts to the other, 17 ‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn't dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn't cry!’ 18 When John came, he fasted and drank no wine, and everyone said, ‘He has a demon in him!’ 19 When the Son of Man came, he ate and drank, and everyone said, ‘Look at this man! He is a glutton and wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!’ God's wisdom, however, is shown to be true by its results.”
Come to Me and Rest(A)
25 At that time Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned. 26 Yes, Father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen.
27 (B)“My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 (C)“Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 29 (D)Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. 30 For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.